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BookingsManaging BookingsCancelling a Booking

Overview

Guests cancel for many reasons — plans change, flights get rescheduled, or they find a different option. Cancelling a booking in Vesta is straightforward, but it is important to understand what happens behind the scenes so you can clearly communicate the outcome to the guest.

Cancellation is only available for bookings that have not yet been checked in. Once a guest has arrived and checked in, the booking must follow the normal check-out process instead.

When You Can Cancel

A booking can only be cancelled if its current status is:

  • Pending — the booking has been created but not yet confirmed
  • Confirmed — the booking is confirmed but the guest has not arrived yet

:::warning You cannot cancel a booking that is already Checked In. If a guest needs to leave early, use the check-out process instead. Bookings that are already Checked Out, Cancelled, or No-Show are in a final state and cannot be modified. :::

Steps

  1. Open Bookings from the sidebar and find the booking you need to cancel
  2. Click the booking to open its detail page — see Viewing Booking Details if you need help finding it
  3. Click the Cancel Booking button
  4. Review the refund calculation (if your property has a cancellation policy)
  5. Optionally enter a Cancellation Reason
  6. Optionally enable Send cancellation notification to guest (if the guest has an email on file)
  7. Click Cancel Booking to proceed

The booking status changes to Cancelled immediately.

What Happens When You Cancel

Inventory Is Restored

The room type’s availability for the cancelled dates is automatically restored. This means those dates immediately become bookable again for other guests. You do not need to manually adjust anything.

Cancellation Policy Is Applied

If the property has a cancellation policy configured, Vesta applies it based on how far in advance the cancellation is made:

  • Free cancellation window — if the guest cancels within the allowed period, no penalty is charged
  • Penalty period — if the cancellation falls within the penalty window, a charge may apply (for example, one night’s rate or a percentage of the total)

See Cancellation Policies for details on how to configure these rules.

:::info Vesta evaluates the cancellation policy automatically and calculates:

  • The penalty the guest still owes (if any)
  • The refund amount the guest is entitled to (if any)

Vesta records the refund amount for staff to process, but the actual money transfer is handled outside the system (card terminal, payment processor, bank transfer, etc.). See Handling Service Requests and Refunds. :::

The Folio Is Adjusted to Match the Penalty

When you cancel a booking, Vesta updates the booking’s folio so the total reflects the cancellation outcome. Practically:

  • If the cancellation is free, the folio total is reduced to 0 (no accommodation is owed).
  • If a penalty applies, the folio total is reduced to the penalty amount.

This keeps the balance due meaningful on cancelled bookings.

:::tip If the guest has already paid more than the penalty amount, you will typically see a refund due. Vesta will cap the refund due to payments received. :::

Refund Requests Are Created (When Applicable)

If the cancellation policy results in a refund amount greater than zero, Vesta creates a refund record so staff can track and process it. You can review and process refunds from Requests.

Notifications

Staff members who have notification preferences enabled will receive a booking cancelled notification. If the booking was made through the public booking widget, the guest may also receive a cancellation notice.

Manager Override (Custom Refund Amount)

In some situations, management may want to refund a custom amount (goodwill, service issue, exception handling).

  1. Open the Cancel Booking dialog
  2. Enable Override refund amount (manager discretion)
  3. Enter a Custom Refund Amount and an Override Reason
  4. Cancel the booking

:::warning Overrides are capped to payments received. If the guest paid nothing, the override refund amount will effectively be zero. :::

Cancelled Bookings Are Final

Once cancelled, a booking cannot be reactivated or changed back to Confirmed. If the guest later decides they want to rebook:

  1. Create a brand new booking — see Creating a Booking
  2. The new booking will get its own pricing based on current rates and availability

:::tip If a guest calls to cancel but seems uncertain, you can let them know that their rate is locked in on the current booking. If they cancel and rebook later, the price may differ based on current rate plan settings and calendar adjustments. :::

:::permissions

  • bookings:delete — cancel bookings
  • bookings:cancel_override — cancel with a custom refund amount (manager override)

This permission covers both cancellation and marking bookings as no-show, since both are terminal actions on a booking. :::

Viewing Booking DetailsConfirming a Booking